Letters

Shower Faucets Frustration
I am in the energy contracting and consulting business and just built my own home. Needless to say, it is very efficient and very green, including solar hot water. I learned a lesson I would like to share.
We were sent to a large national plumbing warehouse—Fergusen—to pick out plumbing hardware and chose different manufacturers’ equipment for each of our three showers—a Moen, a Kohler, and a Hans Groehe. We moved in last August, when the solar water heater was putting out its maximum for the year.
We immediately noted that none of the three shower faucets had a volume control—they are on full blast at all times and all you can do is adjust the temperature. This uses more water than necessary—some of it hot water. The fact that this problem occurred across separate brands leads me to believe that it is a significant problem.
I spoke with each of the three manufacturers and they all suggested changing the valve inside the wall—to the tune of hundreds of dollars each and drywall repairs. Only Moen had an alternative solution—install a small ...